


Training

by miss_aligned



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mass Effect 1, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-09 05:29:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6892066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aligned/pseuds/miss_aligned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An impromptu training session between the commander and the gunnery chief amasses a larger audience than anticipated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Training

“Hmmph.” Wrex waved a hand in the air, clearly unimpressed. “Flex all you want, but you’re still soft.”

“Not everyone can be a walking battering ram like yourself,” Garrus responded from the other side of the bay.

“I can fire a gun fast enough to take care of most problems before they get into close range, anyway.” Wrex shook his head.

“Yeah, well… I guess I can’t argue there. That’s more my style.” Garrus chuckled, casting his gaze back down at the two women on the floor.

“Getting tired, Chief?” Shepard couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face as she began to outpace her fellow human in sit-ups.

“Not a chance, Skipper.” Ashley’s voice was probably a little more strained than she would have preferred, but it wasn’t every day that she trained against an N7.

“Do all humans do this?” Wrex asked, as he went back to work cleaning his shotgun. “Krogan typically settle disputes with some good ol’ fashioned headbutting.”

“Doubtful,” Garrus answered. “From what I’ve seen, humans are a bit more similar to the asari. They settle disputes with yelling, threats, and sabotage. You know, politics.”

A bemused snort escaped the commander as she continued her quick, efficient pace.

“Time!” The moment Garrus called it, both women flipped over onto their stomachs, starting in on a run of push-ups.

“It’s not a dispute,” Shepard said as she rhythmically lifted and lowered her entire body, her arms rippling with the effort. “It’s just a little training challenge. All in good fun.”

“Better concentrate, Skipper,” Ashley said, not turning her head or breaking her form. “You’re slowing down.”

“In your dreams, Ash.”

The women went head-to-head pumping out as many push-ups as they could before Garrus called time once more. Each of them sprang to their feet and faced one another, ready to strike. Shepard stepped forward, quietly daring the chief to take a swing. When she did, the commander rolled her shoulder back to avoid the main force of the blow while bringing up her other hand to block the second jab she’d guessed was coming.

Ashley stepped back and away, resetting her feet and lifting her arms into a position to easily shield her face if necessary. Shepard slid forward and feinted, throwing her opponent slightly off balance for long enough to land a blow to her midsection. The chief lashed back, but it seemed that her arms weren’t moving as fast as she’d intended. The commander had pivoted to avoid her punch and landed two more to the gut.

She cradled her abdomen as she stepped back. “Ugh,” she leaned forward and worked to catch her breath. “You got me.”

Shepard smiled triumphantly, then tossed her companion a bottle of water. She picked up a towel for herself and patted it across her brow. “Nicely done, Chief.”

“You trained like that every day?” Ashley asked, the disbelief apparent in her voice. She quickly gulped through several mouthfuls of water as she tried to cool down. They’d been at it for over an hour, after all.

“Not every day, but that was the warm up sometimes,” the commander answered with a chuckle. “Thanks for humoring me. It’s been a while since I put myself through the paces.”

Ashley shook her head. It was as she tipped her head back for another drink that a smile curled the edges of her lips. Something had caught her eye from over Shepard’s shoulder and she appeared devilishly amused by it.

The commander turned, following her line of sight. There stood a motionless, wide-eyed Lieutenant Alenko. His bewildered gaze shifted between Shepard and Ashley, but he said nothing.

“Kaidan? Are you okay?” The commander turned to face him fully, hoping that he wasn’t bringing terrible news from the bridge or some awful update about Saren’s latest activities. “Is something wrong?”

“No. No! I just– Maybe I should… Yeah, I’ll just come back later.” He spoke words, but he remained rooted to the ground where he stood.

Only when she stared at him in confusion for a moment did Shepard realize how awful she must have looked. She quickly swept the towel over her arms and across her stomach, all of which had been left exposed due to the haphazard discarding of some layers in preparation for the match. She was thankful that her skin was already flushed from the workout so no one would really be able to pinpoint her embarrassment.

She stepped aside to scoop up her hoodie and haul it over her shoulders while Ashley continued giggling behind her. When her gaze landed upon the still-frozen lieutenant, she noticed that he seemed preoccupied with her exposed stomach, which she hastily hid by zipping up the garment. While it wasn’t exactly strange to see a soldier shed a few layers of clothing while training, it wasn’t something she’d intended for all to see. She knew Wrex, Garrus, and Ashley wouldn’t care, but it clearly bothered Kaidan. She internally scolded herself for being so irresponsible.

“Sorry, Kaidan. Is there something that you need?” She quickly tried to smooth over her hair and compose herself, the heat and redness never leaving her cheeks. She wasn’t used to being caught off-guard, and when it happened, it was more often than not by an enemy in a battle, not a handsome man under her command.

“Uh. No. I just. Um. Joker asked me to tell you that he’s picking up a strange distress signal nearby.” He straightened, clearly settling back into his more usual, professional demeanor.

“I’m surprised Joker didn’t just tell me over the intercom,” Shepard answered, scratching her head.

“Well sure, if you want to go the boring route,” came Joker’s sarcastic and omnipresent voice.

“The coordinates,” Kaidan added as he handed the commander a datapad with more information. His smirk encouraged her own bashful smile in response.

“Not funny, Joker,” Shepard responded despite the chuckle she failed to keep under wraps. “Let’s check it out.”

“You got it,” he answered.

“You should take on the Skipper next time, LT,” Ashley said as a broad, knowing smile swept across her features.

“What?” Kaidan responded, his gaze quickly shifting from the troublesome gunnery chief to Shepard, who happened to be engrossed with the report on the datapad she’d just received. He waved his hand in their general direction before adding, “this is out of my league, I’m afraid.”

“Oh? I don’t think so,” she answered, her voice exceedingly mischievous.

Kaidan cleared his throat, but said nothing further. His eyes flicked over to the oblivious Shepard one last time before his smile noticeably widened and he turned to head back up on the elevator.


End file.
